It's All About Advice and Pancakes
by Alexander Supertramp
Summary: ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. SEE PROFILE FOR MORE INFO. Serena and Darien are the best of friends, but both want something more. Read about their tribulations, and the final outcome, something better than they both could imagine.
1. The Beginning

AN: This story is actually based off a situation I was and still currently am in. It might take a little while for it to get romantic, but just hang in there! Everything is true, except for "Darien's" thoughts, and I probably spiced up some of the situations a bit. Oh and, please review! **Constructive** comments! I'll try and upload the next chapter as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: Though I wouldn't mind owning Darien (hehe) I DON'T. I don't own him, or any of the other Sailor Moon characters. Plus, I don't have any money, so theres no point in sueing really.

The Beginning

Serena laid in bed, patiently awaiting her new found friends reply to the last text she sent. She couldn't describe it, but something inside her just felt right when she was talking to him. The charmed 14 year old giggled to herself, telling her brain how ridiculous it was to even think about liking a beautiful older boy like Darien. Darien was soon to be sixteen, and a grade ahead of Serena. He was totally and completely off limits. Besides, he was interested in another girl, not that Serena was bothered by it. It just gave her an excuse to talk to him when he was looking for advice, and she always happily received his groans of exasperation on the other end of the line.

Serena was interrupted from her thoughts by a slight vibration on her stomach. Casually, she grabbed the phone, pushing the necessary buttons to arrive at her message inbox. Her stomach did flips and dives as she read the words on the screen.

'Dude! How awesome would it be if we went together?!'

Darien, most beautiful boy she'd ever laid eyes on, just offered to go to the Homecoming dance with her? The tiny, shy, inexperienced…her? Serena quickly told herself he only wanted to go because Raye would be there, the object of his desire. She also noted the 'Dude!' part, applying a very friendly layer to the offer. Frowning a little, Serena replied with a happy 'That would be awesome! Thanks a lot! You're a great friend.' Though her previous feelings had put a damper on her mood, she couldn't help but blush a little. I mean, she was going to be escorted by a hilarious, charming, gorgeous guy. Couldn't she be a little happy for herself? As their conversation died, she laid in bed, tossing and turning, her imagination running wild. Slowly, she drifted into a deep sleep.

Darien smiled to himself. He felt a pull to this girl. He had only known her for a few weeks and she had already given him some of the best advice he had ever received in his whole life. She was also really cute, and that helped a bit. Darien chuckled, as his thoughts drifted to Raye. Suddenly his smirk disappeared. _Why won't she date me?! We've talked about our feelings for each other so many times, but she says 'Oh I just don't want to be in relationship right now.' Darien tried to convince himself he could wait for her, no matter how long. He loved her. Or so he thought...' _Darien rolled over onto his stomach, having the same battle with himself he did every night before he went to sleep.

A few weeks later, the girls giggled nervously as they played some music, dancing silly to try and loosen up. Serena watched as her gorgeous friend Mina danced into the bathroom, her golden curls bouncing on her tanned shoulders. Ami nervously sat in front of Mina's mirror, applying another layer of mascara. Serena slowly approached her tiny form, removing the mascara brush from her hands. "You look beautiful! Stop worrying." Serena comforted, easily reading the expression on her best friend of 4 years fair face. She kindly smiled, blushing as she let out a long sigh. "He's supposed to kiss me tonight, you know." Serena gasped sarcastically, covering her mouth. "I had no idea! Really?! Oh my gosh! I mean, we've only been waiting for this day for about 6 months or so." "Shut up," she quipped, sending her a playful glare. "I just don't know if I'm ready." Ami slowly said turning away to search for her shows under the mess of Mina's room. "You'll do fine! I promise." Serena said matter-of-factly, turning and leaving the bathroom.

Mina's mother came in the hallway, announcing that the three boys were here. _Great. How incredibly awkward is this going to be?! I wish I was going with Andrew. That would be so much more comfortable. _Serena laughed at herself, wondering how she could have ever seen Andrew as more than a best friend. Plus, there was no way he could even think about someone besides Mina. Serena and Mina giggled nervously together, sharing the hesitation of stepping outside the door. Ami sighed and pulled the girls outside, each of them splitting to their handsome dates. The young girl with the golden mane glided over to Darien. He inhaled quickly, noticing how beautiful she looked. He suddenly realized how nervous he was and saw her blush when he handed her the corsage. Pictures were taken and the teenagers piled into their parents cars, turning up the music to avoid any awkward moments.

The group took their seats next to their dates of course, and fell into conversation. It became quite comfortable and Serena and Darien finally opened up to each other socially. As she browsed the menu, she felt his eyes on her. Blushing mildly, Serena turned her head and began to talk to Greg, Ami's boyfriend, hoping to distract herself. Darien smiled to himself. Desperate for her attention, he leaned over to Serena and whispered something about their waiter's oddly high pitched voice. She laughed, noticing the shivers running down her spine just from his mouth being so close. She shrugged it off and continued with the meal.

The boys escorted the girls into the school gym about a half hour past the start of the dance. The DJ was remarkable, and Serena and Darien both decided to themselves to just have fun and not worry about things getting uncomfortable. As soon as the first slow song came on, they both gave each other an expressive glance and glided farther onto the dance floor. Serena slipped her arms around Darien's neck, as he tensely placed his arms around her slender waist. "Erm, I've never really…um…danced with a girl before?" Darien muttered, half-hoping she didn't hear him. '_She really needs to stop twirling her finger in my hair. She is so oblivious to what she is doing to me. How does she know exactly what to do to give me chills? Though, I can't say I don't like it.' _Serena, surprised that this guy that girls pined over, had never slow-danced before. She hoped he hadn't seen right through her thought process. She casually laughed, making him feel comfortable and told him to follow her lead.

By the end of the night, Darien had caught the hang of dancing, and things were comfortable. At around 11, the kids loaded into the car and rode to their friend Rebecca's house. Serena and Darien sat on the tennis court in the backyard with a group of people, but their focus was only on each other. Darien was sitting cross-legged and Serena casually slipped her cold feet under his leg. "I'm cold!" she said, laughing. He just smiled at her and proclaimed how tired he was. Serena couldn't help herself and began to run her fingers through his dark hair. He never told her to stop and she began a rhythm of scratching his head. She didn't realize it but all eyes were on them, noticing their chemistry.

Darien looked up, gazing into the blue orbs that smiled back at him. "This would probably be great time to tell you that I'm transferring to Juuban on Monday." Darien said. Serena squealed and unwittingly jumped on him, knocking him backwards. "No way! That's going to be so awesome, Darien! I'm so excited!!!" She shrieked. All of the sudden, she realized she was on top of his laying form, and quickly got herself up and brushed herself off. Darien frowned, missing her warmth. "I was hoping you would feel that way," he said quietly, giving her a weak smile. "Of course I do! Maybe we'll have some classes together." She replied, beaming. _I sure hope so_, he thought. Realizing they were alone, Darien stood up, offering a hand to Serena. She gladly took it and he pulled her up. The two made eye contact and stood there for about a second, but to them it felt like hours. _'So now I know what Mina meant when she said that the-world-seems-to-disappear feeling.' _Darien cleared his throat and let go of Serena's hand and put his arm around her, casually leading her into the house where the rest of the after-party was. Serena absentmindedly walked with him, thoughts running through her mind. She began to regain consciousness and walked to the couch and sat down. Darien stood behind her, hands on her shoulders. Out of the blue, he leaned down and said he had to go. It was about 1 AM at this time, so she was tired and had drifted into a mild sleep, cuddling up on Mina's shoulder. Darien tried to gain Mina's attention, hoping she could wake her up, but Mina was deep in a conversation with Rebecca about how their red pom-poms clashed with their red cheerleading uniform. Sighing, Darien stepped around the couch and leaned in front of her sleeping form. He gently nudged her and told her his sister was here to pick him up. She yawned, a delicate hand covering her mouth, and gave him a quick hug good bye. "See you on Monday!" she cheerily announced, giving him a wink. He agreed and left the girl who was, unbeknownst to her, falling for him.

Darien sighed as he got in the car and only thought of Serena. She was like no other girl he had ever met. She was always happy and didn't take his teasing seriously, but actually teased him right back. No girl had ever been confident enough to do that to him. He smiled and leaned back in the chair, eager to be in his bed.

Monday came much to slow for the both of them. As soon as Serena arrived at school, she kept a steady eye out for Darien, something she would grow accustomed to. As soon as she saw him, she pranced up to him and suddenly realized she had planned nothing to say. She laughed and gave a casual "Hey." Darien replied with a chuckle and held out his hand for a high-five, something **he** would grow accustomed to. She returned the gesture and decided to start the conversation. "So, do you have your schedule?" Serena asked.

"Actually, I was just on my way to get it. Come with me." Darien ordered with a friendly smile. Another thing he would grow accustomed to saying.

"What? Are you scawed?" Serena replied, in a baby voice, taunting him.

"Real funny. Let's go." He said, standing up a little bit straighter.

The two made their way into the office and got his schedule. Serena immediately grabbed the paper, forming her mouth into a pout. "We don't have any classes together!" She wailed. "UGH! You have Spanish with Mina! No fair!" She continued. Darien laughed, "We can hang out at lunch, Meatball Head." Serena punched him in the stomach and haughtily replied, "Well MORON, since this is my Study Hall, I have to walk MINA to Spanish. Good BYE." Serena stomped out of the office, every bone in her body hoping he would follow, which he did.

"Hey! It was just a joke! C'mon! I don't know where anything is. Show me? Where's room C12?" Darien asked.

Not being able to stay mad at him, Serena quickly gave in. "Come with me," she groaned.

As they began to walk down the locker hall, Serena felt two strong hands on her shoulders. "Andrew! Hey!" Serena squealed, excited he was here. She turned around and gave him a big hug, and all the sudden Darien felt a sting of jealousy. Andrew turned to him and kindly patted him on the shoulder. "Sup dude, how's your first day?" Andrew asked. Serena beamed at him, loving every moment she was with him. Andrew was one of her very best friends, and she admired him more than almost anyone. Darien, entranced at how Serena was looking at Andrew, snapped out of it when he heard himself speak. "Ha-ha, it's going okay, I guess. This Meatball Head over here got a little feisty. But I convinced her to walk me to Spanish." Andrew nodded and gave him a knowing glance, telling Darien he understood. Serena caught what was going and smacked Andrew on the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"What?! I didn't do anything."

"Whatever." She retorted, smiling.

Andrew only laughed and put his arm around her. She softened up a bit.

"So Andrew, to celebrate Darien's transfer, do you think we should do that thing we've been talking about doing?"

"Hiding under the table in the Spanish room?" He guessed.

"DUH! How funny would it be if Senor Plater found us? We have to see if he's in a good mood today, though."

"Guys! Wait for me! You're not trying to replace me with him, are you?" We heard a voice we all knew, cry out behind us.

"Of course not Mina" Serena comforted, turning around and leaving Darien's side.

Mina was Serena's best friend, besides Ami. They had recently discovered that they basically had the same brain, and could have conversations by just throwing glances at each other. They also had every class together except three, out of nine. These two combined often got them in trouble, not with teachers per say, but their grades seemed to drastically drop after it was discovered.

The group arrived at the classroom, only to find the teacher wasn't there yet. Andrew asked Serena if they were really going to go through with it, but Serena was hesitant. Being a freshman, she didn't want to make any bad impressions during only the second month of school. The rest of the class seemed to somehow convince her seconds before Senor walked in, Serena scurried under the table.

Mina casually gazed at Darien, taking in all of his handsome features. Darien not noticing her staring looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back and started the conversation.

"So, you do realize you went to Homecoming with that?" She said, laughing, and pointing under the table.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," He replied, grinning.

Meanwhile, under the table, Andrew and Serena were talking about Homecoming also. Except…in notes.

'I would have asked you any day, Sere. But I felt bad. I knew Mina liked me last year and I felt I should ask her. I love you both equally.'

'Oh, I get it. I had a lot of fun anyways!'

'Me too.'

'Okay. You're hiding something. Spill. No wait! I can guess. You like Mina again. Don't you?'

Serena passed the notebook behind her. Andrew and she were sitting back to back to prevent any laughing at each others faces. Plus, there was a bar in the middle, helping for back support. Andrew turned around at her, giving her a sly look and shaking his head. Serena stuck her tongue out at him as he turned around and began to write.

'You think you're so good, don't you?'

'Well I am right, right?'

'…Yes.'

'AHA! I'm SO good. Wow.'

'Any advice?'

'Well, I happen to know a few things that might help…'

'_Besides the fact that Mina's basically in love with you.'_

Mina, Ami and Serena sat at lunch, making small talk, mostly about Homecoming. Serena blushed and thought back to the weekend's events. Snapping out of her reverie, she felt a light tap on her left shoulder. Whirling around to face the person who wanted her attention, she only faced the gym. Squinting her eyes, she turned back to face Ami. As she began to say something, Darien leaned in to her right ear. Little did she know, he had taken a seat next to her "Hey," he whispered. _How can he make one word so…sultry?'_ Serena laughed at her use of vocabulary and continued back in the real world. Slowly, she turned her head to face Darien, sending him a cold, hard glare.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?"

"I'd like to think so."

Not knowing how vicious this could get, Serena shrugged the conversation off. '_I'm so mature.' _She acknowledged, mentally patting herself on the back.

"So, how's your first day going?"

Darien mumbled, sighed, and then looked away. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Serena was determined to make this guy talk to her. It's not like he hadn't shared some of his deepest secrets in the recent nights with her.

"C'mon. Talk to me."

"It's going alright, but I hope I can change my schedule. I don't feel comfortable in some of my classes."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Well, if you need any help in Spanish, let me know!" Serena offered graciously with a wink. She knew he would spill the real reason he was down later that night on the phone. She rolled her eyes discreetly, sensing it had to do with Raye.

Darien felt his insides churn. '_If only she knew what she does to me. If only I knew... What is it about this girl?' _Darien chuckled. "I'll be sure to, Meatball Head." Serena's grin switched to glower in a matter of seconds. She decided she had to leave before punching the daylights out of the remarkable guy next to her. Irony seemed to follow her every where.

"I'm going to get some cereal from the caf. Ami, Meens, want anything?"

"Uh! Aren't you going to offer to get ME anything?" Darien whimpered, a look of anger crossing his face.

"No thanks, Serena." They both said in unison.

Serena stood up and worked her way out of the picnic table mutely, ignoring the sitting form beside her. Before walking away, she smiled knowingly at Darien, making eye contact with his midnight pools. _'This is getting out of hand. Pools? What the hell am I talking about?' _Serena made her way to the cafeteria, briefly chatting with Becca. Darien watched her move, laugh and tease her friend. _'Every move is so angelic..._' Serena brushed Rebecca's arm, explaining where she was headed, Darien assumed as she pointed to the building ahead of her. He continued to watch her as she passed some boys in her grade, all of which turned to watch her as she walked past. Darien thought it was absolutely adorable how she was so oblivious to her admirers. As soon as she entered the doors to the cafeteria, he resumed his gaze across the table. At Mina. Mina flashed him a knowing look.

Darien, looking confused, said "What?"

Mina rolled her eyes, "You know what."

"No, I really don't know what you're talking about."

"You're so full of it! You like Serena! Duh!"

"No I don't. We're just good friends. That's all."

"Darien. Don't play games with me."

He sighed. "I don't know if I like her or not. I do know that I cherish our friendship, though. But I can definitely see things happening in the future…"

"Don't worry. I won't tell her."

Mina groaned to herself, trying to seem annoyed. Inside, she was bubbly. _'Ha! Yeah right I won't tell Serena.'_


	2. One Thing After Another

One Thing after Another

From there, Serena and Darien's friendship developed at a rapid speed. And as the air got colder and the trees got bare, Darien began to try and get over Raye, always with Serena at his side supporting him. He thought he was doing the right thing by "searching for new, hot chicks" as he liked to put it, but Serena could tell he was still hurting inside from all of Raye's refusals. One morning at one of their usual break rendezvous', they made their way to their 'spot.' This 'spot' was a hall between the cafeteria and the auditorium, also in front of the Spanish and Art rooms. This was their usual meeting place when Serena walked him to Photography class (which he had switched into in place of Spanish) during her off-hour. Andrew and Serena had sort of worked out an unspoken system where they would both walk Mina to Spanish but Andrew stayed with her till the teacher got there while Serena slipped off to walk with Darien. These walks had become very special and cherished to her. To both of them.

Anyways, this one particular morning was the one that started one of many fiascos they had to come. Two nights before, Darien and Serena's very best friend Lita (who didn't go to her school) were chatting online. The three of them had hung out earlier that evening at the mall, where Darien had joked with Lita about asking her out. It was all fun and games until this particular IM conversation…

LitaDAchef: sup delicious

Tuxedo4u: ha-ha, hey :P

LitaDAchef: i had fun tonight

Tuxedo4u: me too, will you go out with me?

LitaDAchef: hahaha

Tuxedo4u: really…will you go out with me?

LitaDAchef: what?

Tuxedo4u: go out with me!

LitaDAchef: huh? …i need to talk to Serena…

Tuxedo4u: wait, why?

LitaDAchef: gotta go bye!

**LitaDAchef has signed off.**

Darien read over the conversation and gaped. '_I didn't mean to sound that serious! SHIT. I don't like Lita! I mean, she's great and all but…no!_' Darien smacked him self in the temples with his palms and let his head fall directly on the key board. "I am such an idiot." He mumbled into the keys, as if they were hanging onto his every word.

Lita was confused, excited and dreading what she was about to do. She had liked Darien for about a month, while Serena had liked him for 3. _'I couldn't date this guy. It would hurt Sere so much. But she said she would be happy for me if we got together…She's lying though. I knew she was lying as she said it.' _Lita picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Darien just asked me out."

"What?"

"Yeah, you heard me."

"But wasn't he kidding?"

"I don't think he was, he said it about 3 times in a row."

Silence.

"Serena, are you still there?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't want to hurt you. So I come to ask for a blessing."

"You know I want you to be happy. Just let me tie up some loose ends okay?"

"Sure. Night, Sere, thanks!"

"Night."

Revert back to the present. "So…" Serena said, stealing part of Darien's blueberry muffin. "I wanted to talk to you about Lita." Darien started to say something about the muffin, but had gotten pretty used to sharing his food. Instead, he gazed at her with a confused look on his face. "Lita? What about her?" he mumbled, hoping she hadn't told Serena about their conversation.

"What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing. I made a mistake. I don't like her like that."

Serena gaped at him.

"You suck at life, you know that right?" Serena said.

"Yeah, I seemed to of realized that this past weekend…I don't know what I was thinking."

"Do you enjoy getting girls hopes up? Do you know how many girls pine over you, Darien? It's some girls wildest dreams that you would ask her out. You are not the person to be joking around about things like that. You just aren't."

"No, I don't enjoy it. I just thought it was joke. Look, I took it too far. I know. I'm planning on apologizing to her."

"Good. I guess this isn't necessary then," Serena replied, holding up piece of folded lined paper, covered in words written in blue ink. Darien recognized it as Serena's hand writing. He was surprised at himself, since the girl changed it every week…

"What's that?"

"Nothing. It's not important."

Darien noticed she didn't throw it away, but put it in her shorts pocket. The night before, Serena had written a letter to Darien. It revealed her feelings for him, but also told him that if he hurt Lita he would kill him and not to worry about getting in between her and Lita's friendship. Serena had decided that if she sat down with Darien and tried to tell him all this it would come out wrong. She decided it was no longer needed to embarrass herself.

"At least tell me what it is."

"It was just a letter I wrote to you. It's really not important anymore. Drop it, okay?" She said, Darien translated this into her demanding that he shut up about the stupid letter. He didn't relent for long, though.

Darien groaned. "Let's go." He said, lightly touching her wrist. Knowingly, she walked toward the door and out into the fresh air. The photography class was in the "outback" as it had been called, which was made up of two buildings that used to consist of the whole school. Truthfully, the walk was quite breath-taking, almost romantic, during certain seasons at least. Serena and Darien walked through his locker hall past the courtyard garden, and down the stairs to the path. The concrete path was adorned with white and pink creypmertles and benches for the young children to read on. Serena could smell the large rosemary bush in front of the fifth grade class room. Today, the walk was not so much lovely but more bare and dead due to the coming winter and the hostile feelings being exchanged. Darien was sorting things out in his head, while Serena was still debating over giving him the letter. As the two reached the parking lot they had to cross, Darien stopped.

"If it doesn't matter anymore, why won't you let me see it?"

"Why won't you be a normal guy and not care?"

"Because I DO care about anything that has to do with you." Darien said, almost to himself. He couldn't believe that just slipped out. He didn't even know he had thought that before.

Serena blushed and turned on her heels to keep on walking, hoping to avoid any awkward eye contact. "Serena!" Darien called, grabbing her arm. "You're my friend, and you mean a lot to me. I just want you to know that." Serena cringed at the word 'friend', but quickly hid it with a smile. "Well thanks, but I'm still not letting you see the letter."

"Fine. I don't even care anymore!" Darien playfully groaned, looking at her.

"This is as far as I go." Serena announced, stopping.

"Why do you always stop here?"

"I don't know. I feel weird 'walking you to the door' or whatever." '_Doesn't matter that half girls in your grade think I'm obsessed with you. You follow ME around!'_

"Well, I'll see you later then." He said, giving up way to easily for Serena's liking.

Serena absentmindedly slapped his opened hand and turned, walking away from a confused Darien. She was walking back up the path when she ran into a junior in her Spanish class.

"Hey Cody."

"Hey, why do you walk all the way over here everyday?"

Serena blushed.

"With Darien. It's my off hour and I have nothing else better to do."

"Are you guys 'going out'"?

Her face reddened.

"Nooo," Serena replied, laughing.

"Hookin' up?"

"No! Shut up!"

"Whatever."

The weekend before Christmas, Lita and Serena went to a bonfire at Darien's house. It was put on by their church, so just about everyone they knew was there. Serena had gotten separated from Mina and Lita, but when she found them, she saw Mina was reading something. Serena asked her what it was about and she told her "It's just a letter."

Serena shrugged it off, assuming it was something Mina had written and continued to go find Darien. When she went into his room, she found more people than she knew what to do with. She saw him talking to Raye. Raye glanced over at Serena, sending her a glare. Serena graciously backed out, wishing she could make things right again with Raye, completely…

(flashback)

Lita and Serena were sitting around after getting home from their friend Colin's house. Serena started to tell Lita about how mean Raye had been to Darien recently. They got a little carried away and left her voicemail from a private number, lecturing her how cold she was. Raye actually figured out who called her and they all three got in a big fight. Raye was not one to avoid situations.

Serena had not seen Raye since then, and even though they had talked things out and Serena and Lita had apologized, things were still very awkward. Serena decided to avoid Darien all night, for her own safety. As soon as they left, Lita told Serena that the letter Mina had been reading was written by her, and she gave it to Darien. Serena absentmindedly slapped her leg.

"You let HER read it but not ME? I'm your best friend!"

"I'm sorry. I had to give it to him before I chickened out."

"Urgh. Well. Whatever. Just tell me what it said!"

Lita explained to Serena that the letter told Darien her feelings for him, and how much she cherished their friendship. After that weekend, Darien basically ignored Lita. This upset her, but she eventually got over it and moved on to other boys. They rarely ever saw each other, and when they did, it was never really the same.

Serena and Darien continued to hang out, ice skating, parties, movies, mall, anything. Serena sat through Darien's phone rants about the recent girl he liked. He would always question her about who she liked.

"Why don't you like someone?!"

"I don't know. It's just taking awhile to get over Cade, I guess." She lied.

"Tell me about that relationship."

"There's not much to tell. I liked him, he liked me. It just wasn't as real as I thought it was. Puppy love."

"Man, that sucks. Have you liked ANYONE since then?"

"I liked Andrew."

"Liked?"

"Liked. For a month or so. I guess it stopped around Homecoming..."

"You don't like him, seriously?"

"No. Does it seem like I do?"

"Um, yeah."

"No, he's one of my best friends."

"..Oh."

"So you thought I was lying to you every time I told you I didn't like someone?"

"I guess."

"Wow, thanks."

"Well, sorry. It didn't really upset me, I mean, you're allowed to have secrets, you know."

"Hm, thanks for informing me that there's rules, then."

"Man! I'm sorry. That's not what I mean and you know it."

"It's fine, Darien. It doesn't matter anymore."

"You know what? No more secrets."

"I never had any to begin with. Did you?"

"Well, no."

'_I'm lying. Straight up, lying. Of course I have a secret! I like you Serena! There. That's my secret. What am I getting myself into?' _

February rolled along, and that's where Serena and Darien hit their biggest road block. Once again, it all started at 'the spot.'

"So, there's this new hot chick at Adrienne's school."

"Adrienne, as in Stefan's girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Her names Beryl."

"That's cool."

Darien obviously didn't catch her disinterest and continued rambling.

"She's Lebanese, and she's really pretty. And she cooks pancakes, and you know how I am about pancakes."

"You love pancakes."

"Yeah, and she hangs out with my whole group of friends, which makes it easy for us to hang out, I guess. I don't know much about her personality though."

"Are you going to 'pursue' her?" Serena said, taking a bite out of her croissant.

Darien laughed. "I just might. Or maybe I should just forget girls ever existed and never get married or need another girlfriend. Ever."

"Wait, did you just say you 'needed' a girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah."

"That's stupid."

This 'new, hot chick' soon became Beryl, Queen of All Conversations. It was all Darien talked about, and Serena finally just stopped answering his calls. Winter break came, and Serena and Ami went on a skiing trip together. Serena hadn't had a real conversation with Darien in weeks so it was shock when Ami saw his name on Serena's ringing cell phone.

"Who's calling?" Serena asked Ami, who was closest to her phone at the table they were sitting at on top of the mountain.

Ami glanced at the phone, jaw dropped.

"It's Darien."

Serena tried to act angry, while inside she was happy he had called her.

"Let it ring. I'll call him when we get down the mountain. He's not worth holding us up."

"Okay then."

Serena and Ami skied down the mountain one last time. They each took off all their gear and made their way to the Starbucks in the village. Setting her helmet down on the table, Serena dug out her cell phone from a pocket inside her ski jacket.

"So, you think I should call him?"

"You know you want to."

"Shut up," Ami was right though. "Fine, I will call him."

Serena slowly dialed his number, not having to wait one full ring till he picked up.

"Serena! Hey!"

"Hi Darien."

"Can we talk about something?"

"Sure." Serena said, trying to act bored and distant while really, she couldn't wait to talk to him.

"Well, it's about Beryl. Well, we're sort of dating. No, we are dating."

"Oh, well that's fun."

"Yeah, but I have a problem. It seems that our relationship is all physical, if you know what I mean."

By now, Serena had put the phone on speaker and set it on the table so Ami could hear. Serena rolled her eyes, then shot a glance at Ami, grinning evilly.

"No Darien, I don't know what you mean." She said innocently, suppressing her giggles with her hand. Ami was laughing, trying hard to muffle the sound.

"You know, Serena."

"No, I really don't. Why don't you tell me?"

"We make out. A lot. All the time in fact. It seems like that's all we do."

Serena's laughing died quickly. Maybe she shouldn't have played this game. _'Is this his way of getting me back for being so mean? Making me jealous? What an asshole.'_

"I thought that's what you wanted, Darien. I don't see the problem."

"That's not all that I want. I want a relationship. With talking."

"Tell her that then."

"Seriously? That's all I have to do?"

"Sure. Tell her you don't want it to be as physical." Serena replied, tone becoming friendly. _'Stop! You can't be nice to him.'_

"Wow, thanks Sere."

"It's fine." She replied, quickly sounding bored again.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow night?"

"I'm in Colorado, Darien. Plus, you have a girlfriend."

"Oh, okay."

'_Yes! He's disappointed.'_

"Well, have a good break. Bye."

"Bye Serena."

As soon as they hung up, Serena was fuming. Did he SERIOUSLY just do that? Like, she couldn't even get it through her head. "Did he really just call me to tell me that he and his dumb girlfriend make out all the time?! Did that really just happen? I can't believe that bastard!" At that last word, Serena looked at the phone to make sure it was hung up. "He's an asshole. Text him. Ask him." Ami said, suggestively. "Fine, maybe I will." Serena waited till they got back to the resort before questioning Darien.

'You do realize that you basically just called me to tell me that you and your girlfriend make out a lot, don't you?'

'It's not like that. I wanted your advice.'

'Well, I hope you got what you wanted.'

'I did. Thanks again, Serena.'

Serena didn't reply to the last one. '_That's all I'm good for to him. Advice. Well, no more of it. No more.'_

_'I am an idiot! That's EXACTLY what I just did to Serena. How could I do that to her? Oh my gosh, what is my problem? Was I trying to make her jealous? Is that the whole reason I'm with Beryl? This is not good.'_

Serena didn't have to worry about giving advice to Darien, or talking to him for that matter, for a long time. The whole while that Darien and Beryl were dating, she avoided him as much as possible. The few times she did try to talk to him, he only replied with a joking 'I hate you.' or 'Shut up.' This was how they used to act with each other, but it actually hurt her now. Little did she know that this was Darien's way of keeping his mind off of her, something he had a lot of trouble doing. Serena decided to give up. When Darien did try and talk to her she just rolled her eyes and walked away, normally giving a one word answer to whatever he asked, waving him off. Their walks to photography subsided, as well as phone calls and hanging out outside of school. For that month and half, they each thought the other one cared nothing about them, while in truth; they're all they could both think about.

The only time Serena willingly talked to Darien was at soccer games, but only because she had too. Mina, Rebecca and her had become soccer managers and Darien was on the team. Whenever he came off the field, she would ask him if he needed water, and that was it. Beryl even took it upon herself to come sit on the team side of the soccer field, a place she was clearly not allowed. This made Serena angrier than before. After each game, Serena would have to flee, hoping to not see him kiss her, right there, in front of everyone. Serena wondered if he did this on purpose, just to make her jealous.

Then one night, it all changed. Serena's phone said Darien was calling her, shocked, she couldn't help but answer the phone immediately.

"Um, hello?"

"I broke up with Beryl."

Serena grinned. She would have danced for joy, but she needed to hear the rest of what Darien had to say.

"Okay."

"Well, don't you care?"

"Yeah, I guess. Um, why did you break up with her?"

"She was clingy, and boring. She also thought she was really cool. Which she's not."

"That's never a good combination."

"She also told me she loved me."

"Recently?"

"No, a few weeks ago."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Did you say it back?"

"Yeah. I felt bad."

"You really, really suck. You shouldn't tell someone you love them if you don't. Maybe that's why she was clingy."

Pause.

"I really missed talking to you." Darien replied softly.

"Yeah."

"That's all you can say? Yeah?"

Serena took in a deep breath. Preparing to saw what she had wanted to for over a month.

"You know Darien, right when you started dating her, you stopped talking to me. You didn't need guidance anymore, so you just stopped. You used me. I can't say I missed listening to you talk. Sorry."

"I didn't mean to 'use' you, Serena. I just really respect what you have to say, your opinions. And I know I was a dick the past month and a half. I'm truly sorry. I just didn't know what to say to you."

"I know. Our entire friendship was based off me giving you advice, so when you didn't need it, you didn't know what to say. At least we found out early. Look, I can't keep torturing myself about you, so Goodbye, Darien."

"No! Serena, wait!"

"What?"

Serena smiled to herself.

"I want us to be friends. I miss you. Please? I'm begging."

"Darien…"

"I know I messed up, and I'm sorry I was so offensive all the time. Please, please, please, let's be friends again? I need you."

Silence.

"I guess we could try again…"


	3. Starting Over

Starting Over

Serena and Darien tried to start over, but they both realized nothing would ever be the same. Still, they persevered, always together. Ami later confessed that whenever she would run into Darien and they began to walk together, he would constantly ask where Serena was or suggest that they to go find her. After their 'drama', Serena noticed a change in Darien. He was more…flirtatious, to put it boldly. Casually slipping an arm around her, throwing out the sexual innuendos everywhere, and taking advantage of any moment he had with her alone.

Often, the photography teacher would let the class out to take pictures around campus. Darien usually found Serena on the deck with Andrew and some seniors. He and a junior Nicole sat with them and Andrew and Serena became models, basically. Darien would spend rolls of film on just Serena, not that she would notice. Serena eventually got tired of the photo shoots and continued to study, occasionally messing with Andrew with a swat to the shoulder or a witty remark. Something changed in Serena also. She figured out the way to Darien. Ignore him. She realized that if you act like you don't care about Darien, he will come running back to you, like a little puppy. She used this to full advantage. She never denied hanging out with him or going with him somewhere, she just didn't respond to what he had to say quickly or give him detailed answers to his questions. It was becoming quite interesting.

One day, Serena and Darien had been swinging on the kids playground during one of his days off in photography and her off hour. As soon as two girls from his grade walked up, Serena immediately began to feel intimidated. She decided to not let it bother her, knowing she was closer to Darien than they ever would be.

"I'll be right back," Serena whispered in his ear.

"Why are you leaving?"

"I need to get some stuff to study."

With that, Serena jogged off to get her Physical Science binder. She could feel the girls jealous eyes on her.

"So, what's up with you and Sere?" A brunette Darien has titled as 'cute', Samantha asked, sitting down on the swing next to Darien.

"Nothing." Darien replied a bit too quickly, smiling at something in the distance.

"Doesn't look like nothing."

"It's nothing. I promise. We're just friends." _'I'm beginning to have to say that more and more often lately. What IS up with me and Rena?'_

"Whatever." Katie, a curly haired blonde, retorted. (She was considered 'hot'.)

Katie had the biggest crush on Darien. Partly because he constantly reminded her that he thought she was hot. Darien was turning into the biggest player on campus, but he was oblivious to this fact of course. Obviously not pleased with how this conversation was going, Samantha and Katie got up, making sure to bump Serena on the shoulder when she was returning to the swingset, binder in hand. Serena just laughed and nodded her head, walking towards Darien. She actually walked past him and sat on the steps to the tennis court behind him. Darien watched her sit down, take out her things and begin to concentrate.

'_Oh no. I'm not going to let her pretend to get something done around me, when we could be talking.'_

"So, Serena."

"Shh, I'm trying to study. I have a big test next hour."

"Then why are you here?"

"Well, I was hoping it would be quiet. That you would leave me alone with them there. Plus, I like this spot." With that, she looked up and smiled at him. _'I'm such a bad liar. I just want to be near you Darien.'_

Darien chuckled. "Yeah right, you know you wanted to be near me Meatball Head."

'_What the hell? Did he just read my mind? This guy is crazy.'_

"Yeah, right." Serena said sarcastically.

With that, Serena looked up and made direct contact with his sapphire eyes. They were but mere inches from each other. Serena hadn't noticed how close he had sat down by her. Inside, Serena was squirming. '_What if he kisses me?! What do I do? Oh my gosh, I'm going to throw up.'_ Darien smiled at Serena. "What would you do if I kissed you?"

'_Oh, that.'_ Darien had gotten into this habit of asking her random awkward questions in the middle of uncomfortable moments. Darien normally asked the same one, which was 'What would you do if I kissed you?' and he had grown accustomed to her angry remarks. _'If only she knew I really wanted to know what she would do. I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her. But what if she REALLY socks me in the mouth?' _

"Run away, screaming help." _'Kiss you back. I'll say that next time. I swear. I swear. I swear. I'll say that.'_

Darien hid his hurt with a boisterous laugh. This was the first time they had broke eye contact and suddenly, Serena missed it. Serena grabbed Darien's wrist, looking at his watch. She let her fingers linger long enough to where Darien noticed how soft her hands were.

"Shit! I'm late. I just won't get my backpack. Gotta go, Darien! See you at lunch!"

And before he could say anything, she was off, sprinting to her classroom above the gym. Darien's classroom was right next to hers, but he happened to know that class started in 10 minutes, not five. He smiled at her ditzyness, and began to walk back to his classroom.

A few days later, Serena and Andrew were walking with Mina. As they arrived to the Spanish classroom, Mina realized her teacher was already there.

"Crap! Bye guys!" she whispered, opening the door, trying to slip in discreetly.

Serena felt a tap on her left shoulder but instinctively turned to the right.

"That doesn't work anymore." She said, shooting Darien a snobby look.

"I'll get you one day. Let's walk."

"Hey. I'll come with you guys, today." Andrew spoke up.

"Sure, man. I'm getting sick of Serena." He replied, shooting her a smile.

Serena made a mental note to punch both of them in the stomach one day. _'What did Andrew think he was doing? He KNOWS I'm basically in love with Darien. Why does he have to tag along? He was the first one to notice I like him, he knows I cherish time with him. Urghhhhh.'_

"You like Darien."

"What?! No I don't." _'You are so right, Andrew. Stop being perfect.'_

"Um yeah ya' do." Greg chimed in.

"It's pretty obvious." Mina said, coming up to stand behind the fence to face them.

Mina was a cheerleader, and the three of them were at a football game.

"Go cheer or something, Mina."

She just laughed and waved her off, walking back to the squad. A few minutes later, Serena turned to both the boys, exasperated.

"I DON'T LIKE DARIEN!" Serena shouted.

"You don't have to get upset about it. Just face it." Andrew said, placing an arm over her shoulder. Serena groaned, placing her head on him.

"What am I going to do? He's so unattainable." She mumbled into Andrews shirt.

(end flashback)

The three of them reached the middle of the path, walking as slowly as possible. Darien was slightly ahead and turned around to face the silent Serena and Andrew.

"What would you do if I kissed you? Right on the mouth?"

'_Damn it! Now I can't say it, not with Andrew here. How awkward would that be?'_

"I don't know…" Serene mumbled meekly, looking down at her shoes, hoping Andrew didn't notice her blushing.

Suddenly, Darien was leaning right in front of her. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. Serena struggled to lift her eyes but the task seemed nearly impossible. He placed his hand under her chin to lift her up to him while his other arm snaked his way around her waist. "Really?" He purred tenderly in her ear. Serena's body went numb and cold at the tingling sensation his breath on her neck caused. Snapping herself out of it, she decided to cut the mood, for the sake of Andrew, who was standing about 10 feet away, trying to distract himself with a dandelion. "Actually, there would probably be a meeting between my foot and your shin." Serena said, pulling herself away from his grip. She shot him a look, then glanced at Andrew, hoping Darien would catch her drift. He gave her a winning smile and leaned back down to her ear. "Only when we're alone, hm?" Then, she decided to get gutsy and play with his head. Serena grabbed his neck and guided it down to face hers. She leaned in, and when he began to close the space between their lips, she turned her head to the right, still keeping her hold on his neck and whispered "You're such a creep."

She pushed herself away, more violently this time while Darien stood there, stunned, arms still in the position he had on her body. Serena took hold of Andrew's wrist and pulled him back down the path. He could hear her viciously whispering things about "Never to be spoken of again" and "I'll hurt you." Darien just shook his head, turned around, and began his way to class, astonished. _'What was I thinking? Am I crazy? I was way out of line.'_

From there, months passed and winter turned into spring. The creypmertles along the path bloomed into dazzling pinks and whites, creating an archway over the path. Serena was starting to notice more the attractive things about Darien, things she had tried to overlook in the beginning for fear of getting her heart broken. Of course there was the obvious: Darien was about 6"1', making him just a half an inch short of a foot taller than her. He was tan, mostly from playing soccer 90 percent of his spare time. His shoulders were broad and supported his tone frame which gave him masculine audacity. When Darien had transferred to Juuban, he cut his long raven locks that reached down past his ears, to where it didn't even cover his forehead. At first, this had been extremely unfortunate, but it had grown on Serena, as well as the rest of the female population. But now, his hair was reaching about 3 quarters of the way down his forehead and Serena realized how much she loved his hair before he cut it. But Serena noticed the things girl's always passed up in the bathroom gossip. She saw how his eyes were the darkest shade of blue they could be before being mistaken for black, how he had minor gaps between every tooth but it made his smile even more adorable and even the light freckles across his nose. Serena was the only one at her school who actually noticed these, or got close enough to notice. Other girls only admired from afar, while Serena was probably the person closest to Darien at the whole school. Girls of every grade were either jealous of her, would make fun of her ("That Serena girl follows Darien around every where. She's just a freshman! What right does she have?!"), or wished they were her.

Every day, someone would ask Serena if she was dating Darien, and every day she denied it and blushed. Every day some upper class man boy would come up to Darien and make a comment about either the entire senior class wanting to "do" him, or some stupid truth or dare game that went on over the weekend where a girl claimed if she wanted any boy at the school, it would be him. These comments always made Darien feel awkward, and Serena was the only one he would share them with. He felt he could tell her anything, well at least, almost anything. She would always laugh with him about it, promising not to spread it around. She found it absolutely endearing how embarrassed he would get about it and always wondered why he shared these little tidbits of information with her and only her. Little did she know, Darien only wanted to her to know these things because she was the only one he trusted. She was the only one he had ever trusted, besides his sister, in his entire life. Their bond was stronger than they both thought.

Exam time rolled around, closing their time together. Darien was going to Tokyo High next year and Serena had a pretty good idea that they wouldn't be nearly as close, seeing he was a guy and probably horrible at keeping in touch. Serena shouldn't of been so quick to assume things were done, they still had one more race to run before summer started…


	4. The Day It All Began, Part 1

AN: Helllllllllllllllurrrrrrrrrr everyone! I know I said this was all true, but I've definitely spiced it up in the long run. Some scenes I've totally made up, so don't get to thinking I've been in this romantic of situations, far from. In this chapter, everything that happens AFTER school is true, but probably a bit more romantic, but this whole chapter is majorally exagerrated. Sorry to ruin it, but I had to be honest. I thought I was going to leave it pure and true but I knew that if I was reading it, I would of gotten bored already, so I decided to play it up a bit. It's been a bit of slow-going due to faulty internet connections, late nights/early mornings, and photography classes. Oh and, sorry this is short, but it's part 1 of 2 or 3. I'm not sure yet. Enjoy and review, please!

* * *

Serena wearily walked up the stairs, cursing herself for staying up so late studying. Her long slender legs dragged up the hallway, head bent, causing her meatballs to fall down her back, shaping her form. Suddenly, there was an obstruction blocking her slow-going. "Move," she growled, not bothering to lift her head. "That's not very nice, Meatball Head." Darien said, smirking down at the angry blonde below him. Serena looked up, flushed by embarrassment, but quickly hid it with bitterness.

"Today is NOT the day, Darien. Now move."

"Why don't you walk around me, lazy?"

"I was up till 2 last night, okay? Forgive me for being a little cranky."

"I'm sorry. Do you need any help doing any last minute studying?"

Serena gasped at his sudden change in disposition. She just stared at him, shook her head, and stepped to the left, trying to make her way around the man. Being the klutz she was, Serena linked her foot in a backpack strap and started to fall on her face. Too tired to defend herself, she just gave up and decided to fall. _'Maybe I'll get out of my English exam if I get a concussion!' _Darien reacted fast and gripped her shoulders with his large hands. Steadying her, Dariens mind wandered about what he would get as a reward, when a livid voice bellowed from beneath his grip.

"GREAT JOB! You ruined my plans. Leave me alone."

"What? I don't get a 'thanks' from saving you from head trauma?"

"No! You ruined my only hope for not failing my English exam."

"Are you serious?"

"No…I guess not…I don't know Darien! I'm so worried…If I fail, I'll get a D in the class, and I'm already so close to not passing."

Before he knew what he was doing, Darien was pulling the ranting and now sobbing Serena into his arms. He gently rubbed her back and she gripped his shirt. "You'll do fine, Serena." Darien cooed, running his hands through her hair. Serena felt the instinct to pull away, but resisted, enjoying her position. "Thanks, Darien." She murmured, glancing up at him then resting her gaze back on his shoulder. Darien untangled an arm from her hair and placed it under her chin, gently pulling her face up to face his. Her baby blue's only stared back at him, distressed and swollen. "Serena…" Darien whispered, wiping a bang out of her eye. "Um, hi, hope I'm not interrupting something…" said a cheery voice from behind them, snapping them both out of their 'moment.' Pushing herself off Darien a bit too aggressively, Serena pranced over to Mina, "No, of course not! I just tripped and Darien caught me, as usual." She said with a smile, laughing nervously. Darien balanced himself, recovering from Serena's push. "Nope, nothing going on here." He added, running a hand through his hair and smiling a half grin. Mina just smiled, giggled to herself and dashed into the gym before either of them could stop her. "Min-!" Serena gave up when the gym door slammed shut.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me." Darien mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"It's okay, Dare. I'm too tired to care, anyways. Plus, it's not like I protested." she said, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Well, in that case, I have something for you. Come with me to the photography room."

"But..." Serena half-heartedly protested, glancing down at her books.

"Don't worry about the exam, Sere. I'm sure you'll do fine. Just trust me."

Serena reluctantly followed. The walk to the building was silent, but in a comforting way. Serena stopped at the door to the room where Darien told her to wait. A few moments later he came dashing out, envelope in hand. He handed it to her, one of the widest grins yet to be seen on his face. "I hope you like it..." He said. Serena obviously opened the envelope tediously. "Just open it, Serena!" Serena giggled, "Fine, bossy." With that, she pulled out a thick peice of paper. Serena stared it, mouth gaping. It was a black and white photo of Serena and Darien sitting on a bench together. Serena was laughing, facing the camera, while Darien was just smiling at her. There was a look in his eyes that Serena couldn't quite place, but she couldn't definitely feel it. "Natalie took it of us." Darien said, not really noticing how Serena wasn't listening. "Darien...I...It's great. Really wonderful. Are you giving it too me?" Serena spat out, finding her voice again. Her eyes made her way back to the picture. She couldn't help but stare at Darien's face in the photo. "Mhmm, It's yours. It was my favorite out of the whole batch." Darien replied softly, arm finding its away on her shoulder, leading her back to the path.

"Oh, well then I can't take it! If it's your favorite..."

"Don't worry, I have one of my own." He said, reddening in the face.

"Oh really? Hmmm..." She said, being playful and poking his side..

"You just don't know how to take a compliment, do you?"

"I guess not."

By now, Serena and Darien were back in the auditorium.

"Why are we in here?" Serena said, quizically.

"I need to take down some of my art."

Serena nodded. Daren began to search the walls for his canvases. He noticed Serena had drifted to the other side of the room and had become infatuated with a painting. Slowly, he came up behind her, leaving a respectable amount of breathing space between the two. "What do you like about it?" He breathed, causing Serena the jump a little. Serena was rendered speechless. She gazed at the layers and layers of paint, her mind picking out the images. It showed the back of a woman and a man, walking under an archway of large oak trees, arm in arm. It was obviously Autumn, displaying hues of oranges and reds that she didn't even know existed. The leaves were picking up behind the couple, and suddenly, Serena could almost feel the breeze in the picture. She got goosebumps and began to rub her arms in search of warmth. Trying desperately to resist taking her up in his arms, Darien reached around and took the canvas down. "Take it." He said graciouslly, handing her the painting.

"Darien, you can't just give it to me. I don't think the artist would like you graciouslly handing me his work of art."

"I don't mind. Anything for you."

Serena stumbled on her words, turning towards him, completely missing the second half of his sentence.

"You...you did thi-" Her gaze focused back on the picture. Darien blushed and nodded.

"Please, take it. I want you to have it."

"Wow, thank you, Darien. Two presents in one day? Your on a roll." _'I really know how to ruin a moment, don't I?' _Serena mocked herself.

"I try." Darien replied, smiling down at her.

Serena then glanced up at the clock. "I'm going to go study a bit last minute." She said, arranging the painting in her arms. "Actually, could you hold this for me while I'm in my exam? I don't want it to get stolen or dirty." She added, obviously thinking things through in her head. "Sure." Darien replied, taking the painting from her and setting it his pile. "Thanks, Dare! Your the best!" Serena said, dashing out the auditorium. "No, you're the best." Darien said quietly to himself. He was finally beginning to notice just HOW much he liked that girl.

---

A few hours later, Serena emerged from the gym. She looked dazed and groggy, tripping every once in a while on her own feet then looking around for the invisible culprit who caused her to loose her footing. "Rough?" She heard a familiar voice ask from behind her. Serena spun around, piveting to face her favorite person at the whole school. Suddenly regaining conciousness, Serena found her words. "You have no idea." She said, rubbing her forehead and yawning, squeezing her eyes open and closed repeatedly before casting her eyes on Darien.

"You want to hang out after my exam?" Darien suggested.

"Um, sure. Let me wait till Ami gets out. We were planning on going to the mall. Want to meet us there?"

"Sure. What would you do if I kissed you?" Darien asked, grinning and taking two steps towards Serena. She was about to say the line that she had yet to use, when Ami came out of the gym.

"Ames! Wanna head to the mall? Darien and probably Karson and Luke are going to meet up with us later." Serena said, forgetting, or trying to, her previous conversation.

"Sure, let's go." Ami replied, re-arranging her purse on her shoulder.

Serena turned back to Darien.

"Hey, our ride's already here. I'll see you later. Good luck on your exam! Oh, can I have my painting please?"

"Here, Thanks." Darien said shyly, handing it too her from the large bag on his side. Serena hoisted the large canvas under her arm and waved at him, turning her heels to follow Ami out to the parking lot.


	5. The Day It All Began, Part 2

Hi everyone! I'm terribly sorry about the hold-up! Seems my computer didn't want to let me upload this document. Whatever the problem was, it's fixed now, so here's the second part! I'm not sure how many more parts this day might be. I mean, this was a LONG day for me. It might be 2 or 3 more! Well, I hope you keep reading, and thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming pleaseee.

* * *

The Day It All Started, Part 2

Serena and Ami walked into the mall, giggling at how ridiculous it was to be there at 10 o'clock in the morning. They went from store to store, gazing wide-eyed at the new arrivals in the windows. After about an hour, the girls became bored with trying on endless outfits and doing poses for each other, laughing hysterically afterwards of course. "I wonder what's taking them so long." Serena said to Ami through the dressing room walls, slipping on her school skirt and blouse. As if on queue, Serena's phone started to play 'Cupid's Chokehold', her ringtone for Darien.

"Hello?"

"…"

"You just got out? Are you guys walking?"

"…"

"How long, you think?"

"…"

"20 minutes. Okay, call when you get here."

"…"

"Shut up, Darien. You're not funny."

"…"

"That's a good question. I don't know why I hang out with you."

"…"

"Whatever. Bye Dare!" Serena ended the conversation, closing her phone.

"C'mon, let's go, Flirty McFlirtster." Ami said, grabbing Serena's arm, dragging out of the store. "Hey! He starts it. It's NOT flirting!" Serena retorted defensively. Ami sarcastically agreed and continued toward the benches where she and Serena sat down.

"So, what to do till they get here?" Serena asked.

"Hmm, what's one of your favorite 'Darien' memories?"

"Random! Um…why?"

"Don't know, just asking."

"One of them is definitely Sadie Hawkins in January, before all that dumb Beryl stuff."

"You never told me anything about that night." Ami said quizzically.

::: (Flashback)

Serena and Darien were jumping around stupidly at the techno song playing, both secretly wishing Serena had asked him to the dance. She had overheard someone talking about him bringing Raye, plus there were enough rumors about them, so she decided to ask one of her best friend Richard's friend Matthew. When a slow song came on, they each stopped and looked at each other. Serena dropped her arms, mouth opening to say something. Darien began to move in to take her waist when Serena spotted Raye staring at them from the punch table. Serena took a step back, removing Darien's arm gently.

"Darien…" Serena whispered, looking at Raye.

"C'mon, it's one dance. I don't think she'd mind." Darien replied, plea in his voice, giving a glance to a very displeased Raye.

"Darien, just…don't. Matthew doesn't know many people here. I can't. Okay? I just can't." With that, Serena turned around to find her date.

Darien sighed and walked over to Raye. "Let's dance." He said. Raye reluctantly agreed, taking his hand. During the song, Serena and Matthew and Darien and Raye had drifted toward the same part of the dance floor. Matthew's back was towards Darien, while Raye's was toward Serena's. Darien's sapphire eye's seemed to be burning a hole in her baby blues. His eyes were full of longing and desire, a plea for a chance. Serena, suddenly uncomfortable, began to untangle herself from Matthew. "I'm sorry." She whispered into his ear, almost seductively, arms still around his neck, giving a glance to Darien. '_There a little payback for what your doing to me!' _Serena thought, lingering next to Matthew's ear, still staring at Darien, secretly hoping he can't read lips. After she planted a soft kiss near Matthew's ear lobe, she turned around, grabbed her shoes that she had taken off early in the night and her black clutch and dashed out of the gym. Darien's eyes filled with worry. He pulled Raye's arms off of him. He ran past a dumbfounded Matthew and out of the gym, following Serena.

(Pause Flashback)

Ami blinked. "THAT'S one of your favorite memories? It sounds horrible!" She exclaimed, obviously confused. "Just wait! I'm not done." Serena replied, turning to face the shoppers in front of her.

(Resume Flashback)

Darien skimmed the campus for her, finally spotting her now silver locks, swaying in the wind and glowing under the moonlight. She was sitting on a bench on one of the decks. He silently walked over to her.

"Sere…"

"You should be with your date." Serena stopped him, not missing a beat, bringing a hand up to wipe the tears away.

"That's not what is important right now!" Darien said, sitting down on the bench.

"I'm not ready for this, Darien."

"Ready? Ready for what?" Darien said, honestly confused.

"This conversation. Look, I don't know what went on in there but…Can we just forget about it for tonight?"

Darien agreed by placing his hand on hers, squeezing it and giving her a dashing smile. Serena smiled and sighed. "Hey, come to IHOP with me! I heard a few people are going after the dance." She said, immediately bouncing back from the emotions that had just jolted through her from his touch. "Sure, I could go for pancakes." He said, standing up. "You can always 'go for pancakes.' Fatty." Serena said, patting his stomach with a smile. Serena froze as soon as she felt his muscles twitch from her touch. Darien turned around to conceal a blush and brushed her hand off. "We can take my car." He said quickly, placing an arm on her shoulder leading to the parking lot.

"Wait, the dance isn't going to be over for another 20 minutes. Are you sure you want to go now?"

Darien looked down on her. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay, then…"

Serena was guided by Darien to the little red sports car. "Nice ride." She said, laughing. "I try." He said, opening the door for her. Serena watched Darien jog around to his side. As soon as he started the car, Serena began to mess with the CD player. "Oh, I love this song!" She exclaimed, referring to her favorite Death Cab song, 'Passenger Seat' coming through Darien's speakers. _'This_ _totally fits the setting. How strange…' _Serena thought. The silence between them was comfortable, but Serena being the chatterbox she is, couldn't let it go on. "So Darien," Serena started, fixing her feet under her and smoothing out her skirt, "have you decided where you're going to school yet next year?" Darien had mentioned him going to Tokyo High, a prestigious high school in the middle of the city. Also, Beryl's high school. "I haven't made a decision yet." Darien said, glancing at Serena. Defeated, she slumped down on her seat, wishing she had pancakes at this very moment. She was suddenly starving. "I'm so hungry!" She exclaimed, grabbing her stomach.

"You're always hungry, Sere!"

"But I shouldn't be hungry! I just had a huge meal a few hours ago…"

"Serena, haven't you learn by now that your stomach is a black hole?"

"Shut up, Dare."

"I don't know where it all goes though…" Darien muttered, almost to himself.

"…Is that a compliment or an insult?" Serena asked slyly.

Darien looked at her and gave her a once over eventually meeting her eyes.

"Definitely a compliment."

"I have a fast metabolism." Serena shrugged, hoping the light pink tint that had risen to her cheeks wasn't obvious.

"Well, I would think so." Darien said, pulling into the parking lot. "We're here!!!" Serena squealed, hopping out of the car and dashing into building, hair following behind her, barely getting stuck in the closing door. "Oh Meatball Head…" Darien sighed, locking the door.

As soon as Darien and Serena had each ordered a big stack on Banana-Chocolate Chip pancakes, they fell into conversation as normal. When they got on the topic of the TV show Sailor V (Which Serena knew happen to be Darien's guilty pleasure.) Darien explained that he had missed last week's episode due to soccer practice.

"Hey, I have it on TiVo! You should come over and we can watch it."

"Would your Dad be okay with that?" Darien asked, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm at my mom's house, silly! Plus, my dad loves you."

"Sure then! I would love too."

By this time it was almost midnight. Serena and Darien walked out of IHOP and made their way toward Darien's car. "Thanks again for paying, Dare!" Serena said, climbing into the car. "No problem." He said, turning on the engine. By the time they reached Serena's house it was five minutes till midnight. Serena led the both of them to the door while digging through her clutch for her keys. Darien watcher her come very close to a potted plant on the path way but instinctively side-step it. He wondered how many times she'd done this. "Ah-Ha! I found them." Serena said, triumphantly holding her keys up proceeding to stick them in the lock. "Goodnight, Serena! Good job making curfew, even if just barely." Serena heard her mom say from upstairs, shutting her door. "Night mom!" Serena said, leading Darien towards the kitchen.

"Do you want anything?"

"Water's fine."

"Trying to lose weight?"

"Trying, not succeeding." Darien said, mocking her tone.

"You can go sit on the couch if you want."

Darien silently walked to the couch while taking in his surroundings. He stopped by the fireplace mantel to look at the pictures of Serena. There were ones of her and the girls, ones when she was small, other recent school photos. Serena had been watching Darien's expression change from smiles to laughter at each picture. She watched him he reached the last photo, one her mother had a professional photographer take of her at the beach. It was black and white, but you could still almost feel the beauty radiating from the picture. Serena was wearing all white, her body facing the ocean. Her hair was let down and was flowing behind her in the sea breeze. Her head was turned to look at the camera. She wasn't smiling, but you could still see the laughter in her eyes. At that one, Darien's jaw dropped a little as he stood up. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. Serena decided to intervene.

"That one's so embarrassing." She said, grabbing his wrist and leading him to the couch.

"No, it's wonderful, Sere."

Serena blushed, "Thanks." She murmured, reaching down for the remote off the ataman.

"So which episodes do you have?"

"The past five, which one's do you want to watch?"

"Will you marry me?" Darien asked, voice laced with seriousness.

At this, Serena gasped. Gaining her composure, she found her words. "Your so dumb. What do episodes to you want to watch?"

"All five I guess."

Serena giggled. "Yes ma'm."'

"Shut up" Darien commanded, nudging her leg.

After about three episodes, Serena had unintentionally fallen asleep on Darien. Too make things more comfortable for the both of him, he placed his arm around her and pulled her close to keep her warm. Her breathing was so calming that Darien feared he would fall asleep before he had a chance to leave. Turning off the TV, Darien scooped up the still sleeping Serena up in his arms and made his way up the stairs. Finding her room easily, as it had to be the one with the pink bunny sign that said Serena, he laid her down on her small bed. Undoing the covers, he pulled them up around her and tucked her in. Darien reached down and gently cupped her face, lingering there for a few moments. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly kissed her forehead and slowly made his way out, shutting the door behind him, but not before wishing Serena soft goodnight.

(end flashback)

Ami was gaping at her. "Wait, how did you know he did all that if you were…Oh Serena! Why would you do that to him? Faking it? What if he just left you there on the couch? How would you of felt then?" Ami started ranting. "Chill Ames, it's Darien. I know he's not that heartless. It was just a little experiment." Serena said, giggling. "It's one of my favorite memories because it was one of the last times we really spent time together before Beryl came into the picture." She said, tone becoming soft. "Aww, Sere. Things are back to normal now! Don't let the past get you down." Ami laid a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Ames."

"Eek there they are!" Serena squealed into a whisper, pointing at the entrance. "Quick in here!" She pulled Ami into the nearest store.

"Why are we in here Serena?"

"I want to pull that whole 'taps on the left shoulder, goes to the right' thing on Dare."

"Oh…" Ami said, giggling.

Darien just laughed, watching Serena viciously pull Ami into the store. He noticed that the other guys hadn't seen the two of them go in, so he decided to be nonchalant about the whole thing. He passed the store, not even giving it a glance, but he could hear Serena's shoes sneaking up behind him. As soon as he thought she was close enough, he turned around and wrapped his arms around her. "Quick, but not quick enough, Meatball Head." He whispered into her hair. Embarrassed because of the audience, Serena pulled away. "Man! I really wanted to get you that time." She whined. "Better luck next time, Sere." Darien said, flashing her a charming smile before casually laying his arm around her, going with the rest of the group.


	6. Not a Chapter

Hi everyone! I know I said I would finish this, but school has gotten so hectic that updates are going to be few and far between. But they will continue to come, I promise! I'm trying, I really am. Things in this department have kind of taken a turn for the worst, so I'm probably going to hit a certain point and start making things up. I need you guys' opinions though okay? Listen up, either I wrap it up within the next few chapters, or I go throughout the whole summer to where I am now, and then make stuff up and end it. Let me know in reviews, please. Also, I'm scared I'm getting all over the place with this, so if you feel any loose ends need to be tied, tell me okay! I'm open to suggestions.

8/25: JUST FOUND OUT MY COMPUTER HARD DRIVE IS FRIED! Meep!!! I lost the beginning to this chapter which I was pretty far into. Ugh. Again, I WILL finish this, it's just going to be a while, okay? I'm working off my parent's comptuer right now, but I should have an real update up soon.

**Rose Zen**: I'll try and tell you what's real and not, but while I'm writing I remember things I left out and work them in there, so its hard to distinguish the real and the fictional. Plus, this all has happened over the course of a year, so it's hard to remember if I imagined this happening, I'm exagerrating, or it if it really happened. Thanks for the review though!

**Kristal**: I wish I could get to the part where they kiss too!!! Sadly, it is yet to happen in my real life. Sucks, aye?

**JasmineFlower001**: Yeah, I had a feeling it was spelled like that but then Word told me otherwise? So, I went with it's spelling suggestion. Thanks for the catch!

* * *


	7. The Day It All Began, Part 3 PREVIEW

Serena silently followed Darien's path to the food court, but her brain was not as quiet. _'What in the world do I feel for this boy?'_ As she was thinking, she absentmindedly glanced up at Darien, taking in every feature and commiting it to memory: his chiseled jaw and tan skin. Suddenly, a bright smile was looking down at her and Serena felt her self blush immensely, looking down, chagrin wiping over her. Collecting herself, Serena threw herself back into the real world. After ordering, she and Darien sat down next to eachother, with Karson and Luke across from them and Ami on the end next to Serena. The gang chatted while Darien stole glances at Serena, laughing, smiling, pondering, anything she did he was mystefied by. _'I'm sick of being ignored! Notice me!'_ He whined inwardly. 'I'll make her squirm.' Smirking, Darien placed his arm around Serena's waist, gently pulling her near him. Serena gasped, but tried to brush it off, not wanted to call attention to herself. Noticing Darien was chewing something, Serena started to crave gum. "Hey Dare, do you have any more gum?" Darien laughed, "Yeah, Sure" he said, pulling out his own peice and offering it to her.

"No! That's disgusting!"

"What?! Then you could say you've made out with me!" Darien replied with a wicked grin.

"You're so immature."

"I know, but that's why you love me."

"HA. HA. Yeah right."

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was cheering her on to take the gum. Giving them an evil glare, Serena simply refused. Turning her head with a dramatic huff, she crossed her arms, inwardly hoping this argument wasn't over. Boy, was she right. Before Serena knew it, Darien had tightened his previously loosened grip on her and pulled her chair centimeters from his, causing a loud distracting noise and earning many turned heads. Serena looked at his face that was now mere millimeters from hers. She could feel his breath on her lips and began to tremble. She watched his eyes go from hers to her lips and she had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen next. "Wha..." Serena murmured. She was answered with Darien's hot breath cascading down on her. Her immediate reaction was be repulsed, but as soon as Darien slid his tongue ever so slightly over Serena's bottom lip, she gave way, no long caring about her audience. Pleased, Darien inwardly smiled at her responsive kisses. He felt her tongue innocently enter his mouth and roaming till it his weakness, the roof. Aroused and no longer in control of his actions, Darien lifted Serena up and placed her small frame in his lap for her to straddle him. Thoroughly enjoying this, Serena sent a small moan into his mouth and wrapped her hands around his neck. Darien found himself gasping for breath and reluctantly drew away with a smile on his face. Serena was short of breath and laid her forehead against his. "Wow." She whispered only for him to hear. He smiled at her and gave her a small peck. "Yeah." He breathed. "One problem," Serena began, " I hate spearmint." With that, Serena blew a bubble and popped it on his nose. "Vixen." Darien mumbled, pulling the gooey substance from his face. Serena began to remember her friends and scrambled to get off of Darien. She turned around to face 3 smiling countenances. Serena began to feel culpable for creating such an awkward enviroment, but realized the incredibly handsome boy (not to mention, GREAT kisser) next to her had started this all.

Still in a daze, Darien laughed nervously, shooting side glances to Serena. "Yeah...Anyways..." Suddenly, Karson lightly punched Luke in the arm. "You owe me twenty bucks!"

"I was hoping you had forgotten about that..." Luke murmered, reaching for his wallet.

"No way, man!"

"Actually, you both owe me thirty dollars." Ami's small voice contributed to the conversation. Meanwhile, Serena and Darien just gaped at the three so called friends. Karson and Luke stared at Ami, waiting for an explanation.

"You don't remember? Three monthes ago we made a bet that they would kiss before school ended." Ami turned to face Serena and Darien. "Shortly after, those two," She made a motion with her thumb pointing to the two boys, "bet on who would initiate it. I personally think Luke is an idiot for thinking you would, Serena."

"Wow..." Serena and Darien murmered in unison.

Darien smirked, while Serena could feel the steam coming out of her ears. "You disrespectful little twits! How dare you guys bet on me and Darien's relationship! What right do you..." Serena's ranting was caught short by a large hand on her mouth and another around her waist, securing her from the victims of her wrath. "Serena. It's not that big of a deal." Darien's strong voice echoed in her ears. Gaining her composure, Serena wiggled from his grip and smiled at the group. "Oh, okay. Fine. It's whatever." She laughed nervously and announced she was ready to leave.


End file.
